JAYCEE SUICIDE SHOCKER

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Despite her cheery public smile, kidnap victim Jaycee Dugard is caught up in a terrifying suicide spiral.

While her family insists she’s doing well after 18 years of sexual slavery, experts warn Jaycee is facing severe psychological problems that could drive her to drug and alcohol abuse, or even suicide.

Extreme depression, paranoia and terrifying flashbacks of her time in captivity could prevent the 29-year-old – who had two children with the monster who abducted her – from ever being truly happy or building a loving relationship, experts warn.

"Jaycee’s family says she’s integrating successfully. But happiness may be a coping mechanism – a mask she wears to deal with her family’s expectations," Dr. Cara Gardenswartz, UCLA lecturer in abnormal psychology, told The ENQUIRER.

"No matter how they spin it, there is a 90 percent chance this woman will struggle in different forms for the rest of her life. With such a severe trauma history, she is at risk for depression. Symptoms of depression include problems with eating and sleeping and being unable to experience pleasure in the world and, in severe cases, thoughts of suicide or suicide attempts."

Dr. Katherine van Wormer, professor of social work at the University of Northern Iowa, agrees.

"Jaycee was terribly traumatized. She easily could spiral down into depression and, heaven forbid, suicide," Dr. van Wormer, co-author of the book "Death By Domestic Violence," told The ENQUIRER.

Jaycee was just 11 when she was kidnapped in broad daylight by monster sex offender Phillip Garrido and his wife Nancy on June 10, 1991. She was raped repeatedly, and housed along with her two daughters Starlit and Angel in hidden squalor in a backyard compound at his Antioch, Calif., home.

Jaycee and her daughters were finally freed on Aug. 26 when Garrido’s parole officer discovered her identity.

But Jaycee initially lied to law enforcement, claiming she and her daughters were on the run from an abusive marriage and Garrido was sheltering them, according to a report from the California state inspector general.

After being removed from the Garridos, Jaycee begged to see them, wanted charges against them dropped and asked to visit them in jail, sources told The ENQUIRER.

While that reaction may seem shocking, it isn’t surprising, experts say.

"Being abruptly ripped out of a lifestyle she had been living for all those years, weird as it might have been, could cause tremendous depression and anxiety," Dr. Naftali Berrill, executive director of the New York Center for Neuropsychology & Forensic Behavioral Science, told The ENQUIRER.
And those feelings could be magnified over time, he said.

"She may suffer from Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD), with nightmares and moments of paranoia. She may feel hatred toward her birth family, thinking, ‘You didn’t try hard enough to save me. I had to grow up kept like an animal, while you just gave up on me,’" he said.

"She is at extreme risk for a large number of psychological problems. She may be headed for a ruined life."

Jaycee’s joyful liberation and returnto her family was a typical "honeymoon period," but in the case of long-held captives like her, the euphoria of freedom is usuallyquickly replaced by cruel reality, says Dr. Frederic Bemak, professor of counseling and development at George Mason University.

"Now that reality is setting in, suicide and depression are absolutely reasonable," Dr. Bemak, who’s also an expert in child and sexual trafficking, told The ENQUIRER.

"Jaycee may be suffering from StockholmSyndrome, when a kidnap victim feels loyalty to the abductor. She may find it is more difficult to reconnect with her birth family than they thought it would be.

"She could become isolated and begin a downward spiral that could lead to alcohol and drug abuse or suicide. This is a very dangerous period for her. If she gets stuck, she may well go down some very dark roads."

Jaycee’s only hope for happiness, the experts agree, is intensive therapy, which her family says she is receiving and responding well to.


FAMILY APPEALS FOR HELP:

Jaycee’s family is seeking donations to help her and her daughters return to a normal life.
Make checks payable to: Jaycee Lee Dugard Trust Fund. Mail to: Jaycee Lee Dugard Trust Fund, c/o Viewtech, P.O. Box 596, Atwood, CA92811. Please do not send cash or packages. Donations are not tax deductible. The Dugard family thanks you for your support.
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